Devotionals from the Spiritual Director

August 4th, 2017 — DEVOTE

So, my bride and I walk to get exercise. It’s one of the ways we use to stay active and to control weight gain.

I use an app called “Pacer” which counts my daily steps. My goal each day is to walk 10,000 steps. I’ve found that it’s better for me if I walk for about 45 minutes to an hour to get the majority of those steps if not all of them.

I’ve been using this app since February of 2015 – so 2 ½ years. During that time, I have walked 7,400,408 steps… have burned 297,907 calories… have walked 1,381 hours… and have walked 3,135 miles. Now, please remember, that’s over a period of 2 ½ years, and that doesn’t include the times I didn’t have my phone on me to count steps.

That’s what I thought of today when I read Luke 24 and two men who were walking home. It was a Sunday afternoon. These two men walked rather slowly, I assumed, maybe sauntered, would be a better word. Their hearts were heavy. They had just witnessed the worst day of their life on Friday, when the One they thought to be God’s Messiah, died a wicked and cruel death. Saturday wasn’t that much better. Lots of questions. Broken hearts. Speechless. What just happened? How did it happen? Why did it happen? The seven miles back home on Sunday afternoon were some of the longest steps these two men ever made.

But then a stranger got in stride with them. He asked why their long faces? They wondered how anyone, having just been in Jerusalem, couldn’t have known what just happened. They proceeded to tell their new traveling companion what had transpired the last couple of days. How the One they believed to be God’s Chosen was arrested, sentenced and brutally killed. But there were some women and then some men who went to the graveyard to look for Him, but He wasn’t there. They had visions of angels who told them the One they were looking for was alive.

The rest of the seven miles was used by Jesus to tell these two men, what happened, and why it happened. Upon returning home, since the sun was setting, they asked Jesus to stay for the night. He did. They broke bread and then they recognized Him just as He disappeared.

I can guarantee you that the next seven miles back to Jerusalem by these two men, were at a record setting pace. I don’t know if they ran a 4 minute mile, but I’m pretty sure they never stopped until they reached the place where the other disciples were hanging out, to tell them Jesus was alive!

Here’s my word of encouragement for you today: Know that Jesus is walking with you every step of the way and He will continue to do so until you take that final step here on earth, to walk with Him in eternity.